Rich Hofmann

DAILY NEWS SPORTS EDITOR

Rich Hofmann arrived at the Daily News in 1980 for a job whose status was officially designated as "full-time, temporary." A senior at Penn at the time, he was hired to fill in on the copy desk during a staff illness. The notion of him covering the Eagles or being a columnist did not exist in anyone's imagination. It was supposed to be six weeks and out, but he never left. It is only one of the reasons why so many people have concerns about him as a potential house guest.

The NFL has published the preliminary order for the 2009 draft. The Eagles have two picks, their own (No. 22) and that of the Carolina Panthers (No. 28). What they had hoped might be a great bonanza when they made the deal with the Panthers has instead turned into a yawn -- and it could get worse.

The order can change based upon playoff performance. If the Eagles reach the Super Bowl, their pick would be either 31st or 32nd. My guess is that most people would make that trade. The same holds true for the Panthers, though. And for an Eagles team that is almost certainly going to be looking for an offensive tackle who can play right away, and maybe more, this will just complicate the process.

Looking back on it, you wonder if the Eagles would have traded out of the first round with the Panthers last year. Knowing what they know now, you wonder if they might just have gone ahead and made the selection as it stood, and what impact that might have had on 2009.

Draft order does matter. A ridiculously high percentage of Pro Bowl players come from the first half of the first round of the draft -- and the Eagles almost never pick there. It makes their life harder. In their hearts, they figured the Carolina pick might get them into the first half of the first round. Now, this.

Just another draft day miscalculation for a team that isn't as bad as people say when it comes to picking players, but isn't good enough.